(March 16, 2025) The City of St. Petersburg has now signed off on all of the zoning and variance requests and Onyx+East is moving forward with its plans to close the purchase of the soccer field property in June, as planned.
At the same time, Pasadena Community Church is on track with plans to contract with Churches by Daniels to draft the detailed architectural plans for the LEC renovation to turn it into the new PCC Preschool.
Leaders at Churches by Daniels say that it is still plausible that we can keep the cost of the LEC renovation to around $2 million, which is what we planned nearly two years ago. It is impossible to say what tariffs and related cost increases will mean to our construction costs. There are also concerns about what funds might be needed to repair the sanctuary, but even with those questions unanswered, the Building Oversight Committee, with the approval of the Trustees and Church Council, is moving forward.
While construction timelines can change for a range of reasons, the rough plan is still to begin renovation of the LEC early this summer and have the building ready to move the preschool into the LEC in early summer 2026.
To summarize, we plan to close on the sale of the “soccer field” property June 2025, which frees up money to begin construction. Then, about a year later, June 2026, we expect to close on the sale of the parcel that is the current location of the preschool and thrift shop. Around that time, we would move the preschool and the renovated LEC preschool and thrift shop. The current thought is that the move could happen at the end of the Spring 2026 semester and before the ’26 summer program to avoid disruption for the children and teachers.
Those of you who have been tracking this land sale/building plan from the start will recall the preschool, in the original vision, took up nearly all of the space in the LEC except for the gym and kitchen. Two years’ worth of delays caused by various challenges have forced some revisions in the plans for the LEC renovation. The major difference in the plans will be that most of the renovation will be in the area that is currently used for classrooms, while most of the church office spaces will not be affected. We do not anticipate moving any exterior walls.
In short, the preschool classrooms will be in the area of the current classrooms, and the stage will be used as school space as well. The gym, kitchen, and big sports bathrooms, we think, will be unaffected.
As soon as we have approved detailed building plans, we will post them here, of course.
All plans will meet licensing and safety requirements, and the BOC has listened to parental concerns that classrooms have easy access to bathrooms and sinks.
We have not begun to think through and collect ideas for playground and outdoor spaces. Once we know our estimated constructed costs, we can thoughtfully design a great and accessible playground space.
While the LEC and preschool plans have consumed nearly all of the BOC’s planning efforts, we will soon turn our attention to whatever Phase 2 of our renovations will include. The original plans, as you recall, involved the Hamiltion Building, which was to be used for classrooms, office space, youth rooms and more. But if church offices are not moving, the scope of the Hamilton renovation will change, which might free up more funds to be used on the sanctuary.
You will recall that we originally envisioned a welcome area, a connection to the Hamilton and improved acoustics. Those things might still happen. However, we have unresolved questions about how much hurricane damage has to be repaired, what repairs would be covered by insurance, and what costs the church might shoulder. Those answers should be clearer by late April or early May. And, by then, our new pastor will be in place and no doubt he will have important input as well.
Of course, the Thrift Shop will move too, and the current plans are still for it to be in the LEC. Nearly everyone involved has thoughts about how to create a great space to keep that important ministry thriving. Almost certainly, the new thrift shop will have fewer square feet of space but will be designed for more efficient use of space.
Bottom line: The land sales are schedule, and the preschool is likely to move into the renovated LEC in late spring early summer 2026.
Despite uncertainties about costs for the sanctuary repair and challenges to church finances posed by post-hurricane giving, in March, the Church Council directed the Building Oversight Committee to keep moving forward with plans to move the preschool to the renovated LEC (likely around June 2026).
pccforward.org 